The upcoming referendum on the fate of Bulgaria's Belene nuclear power plant will prove that the project is pointless, according to Interior Minister Tsvetan Tstevatov.
On Friday, Tsvetanov reiterated that the former socialist-led three-way coalition would have fulfilled the project if it was favorable for Bulgaria.
"They had the executive power, they had the legislative power, they had the presidential power...but they knew what the dangers were," he told reporters, referring to the...

Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev is holding Friday political consultations for the upcoming referendum on the fate of the project to build a second Nuclear Power Plant in the Danube town of Belene.
Plevneliev is convinced that the referendum is a test for democracy and must be held.
The consultations will include parliamentary represented political parties in an attempt to reach consensus on the wording of the question to be asked.
They will be held in the Presidential building,...

The upcoming referendum on the fate of Bulgaria's Belene Nuclear Power project is a provocation made by the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP), according to the right-wing Blue Coalition.
"In our opinion, the referendum is a deliberate provocation made by BSP," Blue Coalition co-chair Martin Dimitrov told reporters on Friday. According to Dimitrov, the left wingers are fully aware that the question they have posed for the referendum is anti-constitutional.
As the Blue Coalition has pointed...

The right-wing Blue Coalition has requested from Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev and Chief Prosecutor, Boris Velchev, to ask the Constitutional Court to elaborate on the upcoming referendum on the fate of the Belene Nuclear Power Plant project.
The Blues insist the Court must have a say in explaining the law before the Parliament passes the decision, the Bulgarian online news agency Dnevnik reports.
According to the law, the Constitutional Court must act on the request of at least...

The Bulgarian government should impose a moratorium on the Belene NPP project until an overall energy strategy is drafted, according to Meglena Kuneva, former EU Commissioner and leader of the Bulgaria for Citizens party.
She says that the fact that the center-right ruling party GERB and the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) have reached consensus on the matter raises suspicion.
Kuneva suggests that the actual goal of the referendum is to tie the next government down to a...

Bulgaria investigators seek clues to suicide bomber's identity
Investigators in Bulgaria are working around the clock to identify the man suspected of killing five Israeli tourists and their bus driver in an airport suicide bombing, the country's interior minister told reporters Friday.
Bulgarian Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov said police were trying to piece together the movements of the suspect, who was carrying a fake Michigan driver's license.
Investigators are also working...

Remittances - money sent by Bulgarian migrants to family members back home - have hit a new high, despite the global downturn, data from the central bank shows.
In May the net sum of the remittances from Bulgarians permanently working abroad totaled EUR 78.2 M, a record-high level of transfers since the Bulgarian National Bank started collecting data back in 2004.
The value of migrant remittances in May exceed by 40% the amount of foreign direct investments that entered Bulgaria's economy...

Bulgaria has registered an increase in its foreign direct investment in January-May 2012 year-on-year, according to the latest data of the Bulgarian National Bank released on Monday.
According to the Bulgarian National Bank's preliminary data, the foreign direct investment in Bulgaria for January - May 2012 increased by EUR 473.8 M (1.2% of GDP), compared to an increase of EUR 72.2 million (0.2% of GDP) for January – May 2011.
Bulgaria's attracted Equity Capital (acquisition/disposal of...

Greece should follow the example set by neighboring Bulgaria and introduce a flat tax, according to Forbes magazine.
Echoing the opinion of Steve Forbes, the 64-year-old publisher of the magazine, the article argues that the lack of decline in Greek government spending is due to general economic uncertainty, as well as the effects of the large tax rate increases on an already-overtaxed private sector.
"Bulgaria has a flat tax system with a 10% income tax rate and a 10% corporate tax rate....

GERB - the party of Boiko Borisov pressed on the independent judiciary - That said magistrates of the Supreme Judicial Council. At its extraordinary meeting today, they were pressed by the Minister of Justice Diana Kovacheva to provide statements for the last four years of the disciplinary...

The unemployment rate in Bulgaria in June 2012 was 10.8%, down 0.2% compared to May 2102, according to data of the Employment Agency.
354 825 unemployed people have been registered. This is 5 289 fewer than during the previous month.
21 577 found jobs in June 2012, which is 2 138 more compared to June 2011.
5 480 found work in June 2012 under the program for development of human resources.
Also in June, 12 783 job openings have been listed with the Labor Bureaus across the country...

Bulgaria's finance minister, who was initially targeting rapid accession to the euro zone, has confirmed the country is in no hurry to adopt the single currency.
"We will not make any move toward the switchover in the next two years," Simeon Djankov told reporters in Vienna on Thursday.
The statement is in line with the opinion of local analysts, who have tried to tone down the cabinet's enthusiasm for adopting rapidly the common European currency, saying it makes more sense for the...

Lot 3 of the southern Trakiya highway, connecting the town of Nova Zagora and the city of Yambol, will be launched Thursday.
The length of the new section is 35.7 km. The breaking ground was on August 2010. The contractor is the Greek company Aktor which offered the price of BGN 133 973.
With the launch of Lot 3, and the recently opened Lot 2 (between the city of Stara Zagora and Nova Zagora) the travel time by car from the capital Sofia to the Black Sea city of Burgas is now shorter by...

Bulgaria has become the picture of fiscal discipline, a top ranking German diplomat has said during his visit to Sofia, bringing good news for policy makers here.
"Bulgaria can serve as a great example of fiscal discipline, which Germany wants to see implemented across the European Union," Michael Link, Minister of State at the German Federal Foreign Office, said on Thursday.
Link is paying a visit to Sofia for the regular political consultations between the ministries of both...

Some 800 teams with business ideas have applied for funding under the Entrepreneurship Acceleration and Seed Financing Instrument under the JEREMIE initiative.
The first application window for submitting projects expires at the end of June, according to a media statement of Bulgaria's Ministry of Economy, Energy and Tourism.
The Entrepreneurship Acceleration and Seed Financing Instrument consists of EUR 21 M provided under the JEREMIE initiative within the Competitive Power Operational...

Bulgaria's fiscal reserve increased to reach BGN 6.5 M after the successful sovereign bond issue, Finance Minister, Simeon Djankov, has boasted.
According to Djankov, by the end of July, when the country must make obligatory payments to the EU, the reserve will reach BGN 7 M.
The Minister showed to the media a thick folder, saying it contained all documents about the deal that will be provided to the Members of the Parliament, who can check them in the library of the Finance...

Fitch rating agency has affirmed the long-term issuer default ratings of three mid-sized Bulgarian banks.
The banks are Societe Generale Express Bank AD (SGE) and Allianz Bank Bulgaria AD (ABB) at 'BBB+' with a Stable Outlook.
Fitch has also maintained MKB UnionBank AD's (MKBU) Long term IDR of 'BBB+' on Rating Watch Negative (RWN).
At the same time, the agency has affirmed ProCredit Bank (Bulgaria) AD's (PCB) Long-term IDR at 'BB+' with a Stable Outlook and upgraded PCB's Viability...

In the first six months of 2012, Sofia Airport processed a total of 1 694 728 passengers, up by 0.7% from the same period of 2011.
According to a media statement of Sofia Airport, the number of passengers travelling to international destinations increased by 34 276 (2%) on the year.
Bulgarian national carrier Bulgaria Air registered an increase of 8% in passengers travelling to domestic destinations.
As regards international air carriers running regular flights, the biggest increases...

4 and 5-star hotels had the highest occupancy rate in May, at 25.6%, according to data of Bulgaria's National Statistical Institute (NSI).
3-star hotels had an average 17.1% occupancy rate, while hotels, motels, camping sites, mountain chalets and other establishments for short-term accommodation with 1 or 2 stars reported an occupancy rate of 14.3% in May.
The average occupancy rate in Bulgarian short-term accommodation sites in May was 19.8%.
In May, a total of 1932 sites offering...

Energy and Economy Minister Delyan Dobrev and Labor Minister Totyu Mladenov launched Tuesday the privatization of VMZ Sopot, Bulgaria's largest defense industry plant.
The privatization process is to be wrapped up within 165 days, during which the state is to clear all of the company's debts, including unpaid salaries to its workers, according to reports of the Bulgarian Telegraph Agency (BTA).
In three months' time, the plant is to be bought by a strategic investor which is in the same...